PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 75 balance of exposure while retaining her privacy and independence. Thanks to online sales and participation in local art festivals (she is a regular at Filoli, the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts and the San Carlos Art and Wine Festival), her work is getting out there. Whitney also takes on commissions, working closely with collectors to create the perfect piece for a personal space. “I was looking for serenity and a sense of calm in my own home. That is what I hope my work evokes for the viewer.” Whitney’s work can be seen this summer in a solo show at M Stark Gallery in Half Moon Bay through August 17. The show, “California Dreamscape,” will feature her mixed-media landscapes inspired by places across the state: Carmel, Santa Barbara and San Diego. Whitney explains that she approaches her subject matter not in a literal way, but via her own personal interpretation that is both “organic and abstract.” Whitney has come a long way from the teenager in Georgia who crafted her own prom dresses and thought that being an “artist” was a lofty and unattainable goal. Now, “I am striving to be a fine artist,” she says. And she is quick to recognize how fortuitous it was that life brought her to California, a place that continues to awe and inspire her, both personally and professionally. “How lucky am I that I get to do something I love so much?” sew scenic artbywhitneyalyssa.com PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: ROSA DELGADO / ADAM KUEHL
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